Llansadwrn (Anglesey) Weather
Diary 2007

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December

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January

1st: After a shower of snow pellets at 0350 GMT the year began calmer and brighter, the sky almost clear at 07 GMT was cloudier by 09 GMT. There was a light SW'ly breeze and pressure 1012 mb was rising with the maturing low 971 mb over the coast of S Norway. The strong winds had transferred to the N North Sea. The morning was mostly cloudy, with convective clouds developing and sferics recorded to the S over the mountains, and there was a little light rain around noon. The afternoon was mostly dry with the sky starting to clear towards sunset. The evening was mostly clear with moonshine. [Rain 0.5 mm; Max 7.4C; Min 4.6C; Grass 0.8C]
2nd: It turned cloudier after midnight but kept dry. At 09 GMT with pressure 1020 mb rising, as a ridge of high-pressure moved across from the W, the sky started to clear. Pressure was low over the Atlantic and over Italy and the Adriatic. The morning was bright in the moderate NW'ly wind; the mountains remained obscured with cloud on the summits above 2500 ft. The afternoon had some good sunshine but turned cloudier by 15 GMT. The evening was clear at times with the minimum temperature 4.2C and 0.5C on the grass about 1800 GMT. Thereafter warm frontal cloud encroached, the temperature rose steadily, and there was intermittent light rain from 2230 GMT. [Rain 3.0 mm; Max 10.5C; Min 4.2C; Grass 0.5C]

At Tywyn Aberffraw after the heavy rains of December the watertable is at or above the surface on the dune slacks and several are flooded. The photo on the left of of the 'willow slack', the willows being deciduous have lost their leaves the stems of which look reddish-brown in the winter sunshine. The fixed dunes, well above the watertable are also very moist, and this is the time to see profuse grey coloured lichens and bright green mosses in all their glory. Slightly salty water was seeping out from under the dunes on the beach. The dunes have been cut back, by the action of south-westerly storms of December. In places 10 m of sand dune up to 1.5 m high, especially at the southern end of the beach, has been removed , but the dunes were not breached on this occasion. This is a normal process and the dunes should be replaced by blown sand being trapped between newly growing sand couch grass, the primary dune-forming plant. But, with rising sea levels due to climate change it could be a problem in many places in years to come.

3rd: In a strong SW'ly warm sector airflow the temperature at 09 GMT was 10.5C, the highest of the past 24-h. Pressure 1017 mb was falling with low 971 mb S Iceland and high 1042 mb Iberia; we were in the steep pressure gradient in-between. The sky was overcast and dull, there were spots of rain on the wind and visibility poor. The first 2 or 3 snowdrops and 1 yellow crocus had appeared on the lawn at the weather station and were the only brightness worthy of observation during the sunless day. Spells of drizzle, and rain around 1500 GMT and 2300 GMT associated with a small temperature fall of 2/3C but overnight the minima were >5C.. {Hawarden 14C, Fylingdales 0C, Isle of Skye 36.7 mm, Jersey 1.2h} [Rain 3.0 mm; Max 11.2C; Min 4.9C; Grass 0.5C]
4th: Another overcast and dull morning. Visibility was poor in mist under the low stratus cloudbase, there was drizzle and light rain at times. Pressure 1010 mb was rising as another minor ridge moved across from the W. But, another low 966 mb S of Greenland had associated fronts W of Ireland with the threat of some more wet and windy weather to come. A few breaks appeared in the cloud from time to time, but no sunshine broke through until a glimpse under the cloud at sunset. With temperatures keeping up there was little sign of any colder air to bring any snowfall to the mountains, which so far this season, have seen little. {Capel Curig 22.8 mm} [Rain 2.0 mm; Max 9.7C; Min 7.5C; Grass 5.1C]
5th: Uniform grey stratus with poor visibility, drizzle and recent light rain. Pressure 1012 mb was falling with low 965 mb S Iceland and associated fronts crossing from the west. The sky started to clear during the morning and by noon it was sunny. It was a good day for the first new-season lambs seen to be put out on the field adjacent to the weather station. The afternoon on Anglesey saw mostly clear skies and with the wind moderating the temperature rose to 10.1C. There was a little cloud in the west at dusk and on the grass the temperature fell to 1.1C before the cloud encroached. It was overcast at 22 GMT. [Teignmouth 15C, Shetland 1C, Isle of Skye 16.2 mm, Leuchars, Fife 5.0h Valley 3.1h} [Rain 3.1 mm; Max 10.1C; Min 6.7C; Grass 4.5C]
6th: Pressure 1010 mb was falling as a frontal low developed over the Celtic Sea in the early hours bringing an area of rain into Wales from the SW and tracked across S England during the day. There was showery rain from 06 GMT, then light rain from 07 GMT up to 09 GMT. Under moderately low uniform grey cloud visibility was moderate in mist and rain. During the morning as the front cleared away the sky slowly cleared and the afternoon was mostly sunny at first. Cloud started to build-up again later although there was some sunshine through to dusk. During the evening the sky became overcast and the wind strengthened to force 6. {Teignmouth 13C, Shobden 0.5C, Saunton Sands 17.0 mm, Leuchars 5.1h} [Rain 10.2 mm; Max 9.8C; Min 5.5C; Grass 1.1C]
7th: With the wind still force 6/7 after midnight there was a spell of moderate to heavy rain until 0300 GMT. By 09 GMT the SW'ly wind had moderated to force 5 but it was still overcast and a little misty. Pressure 1003 mb was falling slowly as another low 994 mb developing SW of Ireland moved closer. There were showers of rain during the morning and this gave way to a spell of moderate rain from 1500 GMT lasting more or less continuously until 2200 GMT. {Capel Curig 38.8 mm} [Rain 14.0 mm; Max 10.1C; Min 6.4C; Grass 3.6C]
8th: The sky partially cleared after midnight and the air temperature fell to 4.3C and on the grass to 0.6C. In January it would be expected that such a clear spell at night would result in a frost, but there has been no air frost this winter, so far. Before dawn frontal cloud had encroached from the SW bringing a band of rain off the Irish Sea by 09 GMT. Pressure 996 mb was falling quickly as the night's ridge gave way to more Atlantic low-pressure. There was light rain through the morning drying up before noon, but it kept overcast with the S'ly wind freshening to force 5/6. During the afternoon, that was mostly dry, pressure bottomed at 988 mb. There was intermittent drizzle and some during the evening as the wind once again freshened. {Prestatyn 15C, Capel Curig 35.6 mm} [Rain 6.4 mm; Max 11.7C; Min 4.3C; Grass 0.6C]
9th: At midnight deepening low 962 mb was close to Rockall off NW Scotland and pressure here had fallen to 990 mb. The SW'ly wind freshened more reaching gale force 8 at times and severe gale force 9 close to 06 GMT with a gust over 60 mph. Before 09 GMT it was raining, but pressure 992 mb had started to rise as the low moved further E 957 mb N of Scotland. The SW'ly was still force 7, but moderated further during the morning. The afternoon was little better and sunless with moderate rain from 1600 to 1900 GMT. {Guernsey 14C, Capel Curig 89.8 mm, Leuchars 3.2h} [Rain 10.3 mm; Max 10.8C; Min 6.4C; Grass 6.0C]
10th: There was further showery rain between 02 and 03 GMT as a cold front passed over; the temperature fell 5.0C from 0300 GMT to near the minimum 4.6C and there was another shower around 05 GMT. The cold front reached Birmingham about 0745 GMT and Kent at 1245 GMT both seeing falls of about 3C. At 09 GMT the sky had started to clear as pressure 1006 mb was rising. The morning saw more blue sky and by afternoon there were some good sunny spells. The mountaintops were obscured in cloud, but some snow could be seen just be seen near the cloudbase at 2800 ft. At dusk the sky was clear overhead and the air minimum went down to 2.2C by 1830 GMT and there was frost on the grass -1.7C. But frontal cloud encroached rapidly and the wind backed SW'ly, strengthened and reached gale force 8 by 2200 GMT as pressure 1009 mb was falling quickly. There was moderate to heavy rain from 2300 GMT; it was a wild night. [Rain 11.1 mm; Max 10.3C; Min 4.6C; Grass 3.0C]
11th: The wind strengthened further after midnight and was force 8 to 9 from 0100 to 0330 GMT. The were very strong gusts that did structural damage in the area; at RAF Valley a gust of 74 mph was reported. A shift-worker was unlucky, but had a very lucky escape, when his car was hit by a large falling beech tree at 0430 GMT blocking the A4080 road between Llanfairpwll and Llanedwen, on Anglesey. A stone wall alongside the road took much of the impact of the tree; he continued his journey on foot. The rain eased by 02 GMT then turned showery with a heavy one from 0500 to 0530 GMT possibly associated with a cold front. At 09 GMT pressure was 997 mb with the deep low 953 mb tracking eastward N of Scotland. Cloud was showing signs of breaking up, but rain was in sight and visibility was poor, and there were spots of rain. The wind was W'ly force 6/7. By afternoon with the sky slowly clearing there were some sunny spells. At dusk the sky was almost clear and was still clear at 2200 GMT. Usually, with a clear evening sky, there would have been a frost, but not today the overnight minimum being 6.6C and 3.3C on the grass. [Rain 0.9 mm; Max 11.0C; Min 2.2C; Grass -1.7C]
12th: Much of the same, overcast stratiform cloud, temperature 11.0C and force 7 S'ly wind. Pressure 1013 mb was falling with low 968 mb N of Scotland tracking E over the Norwegian Sea and high 1039 mb Iberian Peninsula. With isobars over Britain, between the low and high closely packed, we were still in the strong, warm and moist, W'ly airstream. The day had little or no precipitation but, the strong to gale-force 8 wind was relentless, and it was sunless. Hawarden recorded a maximum of 13.8C while Aberdeen had 15C and 4h of sunshine. It was wet in W Scotland with 32 mm recorded at Tulloch Bridge. [Rain 0.2 mm; Max 11.7C; Min 6.6C; Grass 3.3C]
13th: Well, almost the same again. Overcast stratiform cloud, but with intermittent slight rain. Pressure 1012 mb was falling slowly as another Atlantic-low 993 mb approached NW Ireland. The strong to gale force 8 at times SW'ly wind continued at first through the morning with spots of rain. Later the wind eased a little and the cloud thinned, a little blue sky appeared, but never lasted long. By afternoon the wind was back to gale force 8 and there was light to moderate rain. At 1700 GMT, as the cold front passed, the rain and wind moderated and the temperature started to fall from the maximum of 10.3C by 3 degrees in 2h, then to the minimum of 3.9C around 02 GMT. {Ross-on-Wye 13C, Wick 1C, Tulloch Bridge 32.4 mm, Torquay 2.9h, Valley 0.0h} [Rain 4.2 mm; Max 10.3C; Min 9.0C; Grass 7.1C]
14th: A sunny morning! With just 2 oktas of cloud cover. Visibility was a hazy 12 km and the SW'ly wind force 5. There was slight dew on the grass with the minimum down to 0.1C, so again no frost, and drying off in the wind. The day kept bright and sunny although thin cloud developed during the afternoon and was notable because no gale was recorded; solar radiation measurement indicated that it was the brightest day since 26th November. A line of stratocumulus clouds formed over the green-looking Snowdonia Mountains, seen in this photograph . (The weather station is centre on top of the ridge behind the trees). The grass on fields around Llansadwrn also looked very green in the sunshine; it was a better day too for the new-season lambs. The sky was still clear at dusk but cloud had encroached by 22 GMT. {Falmouth 13C, Aboyne 0C, Shetland 20.8 mm, Herne Bay 7.4h, Valley 5.8h}[Rain trace; Max 9.3C; Min 3.9C; Grass 0.1C]
15th: Back to the overcast sky this morning. Pressure 1017 mb was falling as developing frontal-wave low 990 mb tracking NE off NW Ireland and deepened to 983 mb by noon. There was spots of rain then a shower around 1015 GMT. There was a little brightness and glimpse of sunshine just before the SW'ly wind force 5 picked up to gale force 8 again from 14 GMT. There were spots of rain and drizzle on the wind through the afternoon, but accumulated precipitation was small before a shower from 1600 to 1700 GMT delivered 1.2 mm. There was light rain from 2100 GMT on a cold front that turned moderate from 2200, when the temperature started to fall, to 2330 GMT. {Hawarden 11.4C, Cassley, Highland 60 mm, Capel Curig 8.2 mm} [Rain 13.5 mm; Max 9.5C; Min 5.5C; Grass 2.4C]

Temperatures during the first 15 days ran (+2.4) and [+3.0] of average with the mean on 7.9C. Rainfall was 82.4 mm, (83%) and [84%] of the average. There was no air frost and there has not been an air frost this winter so far, and there have been very few days with any snow on the mountains..

16th: It was still overcast at dawn but the cloud had thinned a little and there were 1 or 2 holes appearing at 09 GMT. Pressure 1014 mb was rising and the morning slowly became bright and by noon there was some sunshine. Visibility was good, or very good, but most of the mountains remained obscured with the cloudbase about 1600 ft; no ice precipitation was seen. By 1400 GMT the sky was overcast and there was drizzle and light rain. As another complex frontal system began to cross the Irish Sea the wind strengthened during the evening, but the sky was clear at 2200 GMT. [Rain 10.3 mm; Max 9.5C; Min 5.0C; Grass 3.2C]
17th: At midnight pressure 1000 mb was falling with a triple point wavy-front over St. George's Channel. As it tracked across Wales a vigorous cold front brought heavy rain and ice precipitation Snowdonia southwards and to the north. There was moderate to heavy rain here from 0230 to 0400 GMT with a few ice pellets. It was still overcast at 07 GMT but by 09 GMT the sky was clearing quickly (3 oktas Cu with good visibility. Pressure 999 mb had started to rise from the low of 997 mb about 06 GMT and the morning became mostly sunny. By 11 GMT more cloud had moved across and the SW'ly wind strengthened gain to force 7, once again the Britannia Bridge was closed to high vehicles. The afternoon was bright at times with the cloudbase about 4000 ft. This gave a clear uninterrupted view of the Snowdonia Mountains for the first time in days. A 'dusting' of ice precipitation was seen above 3000 ft on the summits of Carnedd Llewelyn and C. Dafydd. During the evening the SW'ly wind was between force 4 and 6 and it kept dry until 2300 GMT when a spell of light to moderate rain commenced. The 24-h (09 on 17th to 09 GMT on the 18th) was wettest of the month with a total of 15.3 mm. The NOAA 18 satellite image taken at 1400 GMT shows the front having cleared SE England and over N France and Belgium. Ominously, SW of Ireland the next storm clouds were gathering. Forecasters correctly said that damaging winds of 70 mph, perhaps 80 mph, could hit the west later tonight and tomorrow morning. [Rain 15.3 mm; Max 11.2C; Min 5.2C; Grass 2.9C]
18th: Rain continued after midnight with pressure 994 mb falling. At 0245 mb the Oregon storm warning sounded as pressure 982 mb was falling quickly. The wind had eased but rain continued 0430 GMT. Between and soon the wind strengthened to gale force 8, with strong gusts rattling the slates, and the temperature rose to the maximum of 11.2C at 0700 GMT. At 0900 GMT pressure 977 mb had bottomed and had started to rise with the low 960 mb off Malin Head ontrack for Scotland. The WSW'ly wind had eased to force 7 and the sky starting to clear. By 0930 GMT there was a clearly define edge to the cloud heading SE and had cleared to 3 oktas cover. The wind then notched back to force 8; it was a rough morning and with tree debris flying about on the wind the observer retreated to the weather house. The electricity supply failed between 1040 and 1300 GMT, thousands more were affected across Wales; in N England many households in Yorkshire were still without power the next day.. The morning was bright with sunny spells between mainly cumulus clouds; the wind strengthened to force 9 at times and RAF Valley reported a gust of 77 mph at 1300 GMT. As the low crossed S Scotland the wind veered more NW'ly and high wind gusts were experienced along the North Wales coast from Rhyl 82 mph and Hilbre Island 83 mph at 1300 GMT, and 84 mph at Liverpool, Crosby at 1400 GMT. Several trees had been blown over or damaged in the area. During a high gust a large pine tree 50 m away from the weather station screen was sheared 2 m from the ground and fell in a SE'ly direction (80 degree magnetic). It was across the other side of the passing road and, although near the roadside, it fell safely away from the road just catching the stay of a communications pole that remained standing but slightly off-vertical. Another tree, an 18 m tall rowan, was uprooted and blown over in the wood . A gust of 91 mph was recorded at Lake Vyrnwy. There was widespread damage to property and road, rail and air traffic suspended (including Cardiff) was disrupted with several vehicles overturned on the A53 Leek to Buxton road and a lorry on the A55 near Chester. Trees were blown down all over the country and there were reports of injuries and 11 deaths. Dover Harbour was closed for some hours with cross-Channel ferries cancelled. A gust of 99 mph was reported at the Needles and a British registered Swiss owned container vessel the Napoli, mid-Channel off the Lizard, believed to be carrying hazardous cargo including explosives, flammable materials and a 'small quantity of insecticide and herbicide', was in trouble, reported holed and the 26 crew picked up from a liferaft by Sea King helicopter in 50 ft waves under very difficult conditions. There were reports of splits in the hull and fears that the vessel would split. Here, later in the afternoon the wind moderated as the low, that continued to deepen, moved over the North Sea. The storm went on to affect large parts of Europe where a further 17 people were reported to have been killed. In Germany the storm resulted in closure of almost the entire rail network; N France and the Netherlands were also badly affected with EuroStar services to the UK cancelled. [Rain 4.0 mm; Max 10.2C; Min 4.9C; Grass 2.5C]
19th: It was a bright enough morning high cirrus and thin altostratus clouds dominating. Pressure 1012 mb was rising and the wind was a gentle force 3 SW'ly. A little sunshine at first, but by noon pressure 1013 mb started falling again with yet another Atlantic-low heading our way. Thicker cloud encroached and as the cloudbase lowered during the afternoon brought light rain across the island 1430 GMT. At 1800 GMT the deepened low 986 mb was NW of Ireland rapidly approaching Malin Head. By evening the SSW'ly wind had picked up to force 5 to 6 and reached gale force 8 before 2100 GMT and at times up to midnight as a cold front passed over. Today brings the number of days of gales in December and January to 22 making it the windiest on record exceeding the previous highest 21 recorded in 1974/75. It had been a day of clearing up Britain after the 'big storm' as estimates of repairs began to mount into millions of pounds, many thousands in North Wales were still without electricity at the start of a second night. Long lengths of overhead power lines were brought down by hundreds of falling trees and teams of workers were brought in from Scotland to do repair work. The Napoli in the Channel had been taken in tow by a French tug. [Rain 5.2 mm; Max 11.7C; Min 6.2C; Grass 2.2C]
20th: After midnight the wind eased a little, but came back to gale force 8 between 07 and 08 GMT. At 09 GMT the sky had started to clear and the morning was bright with some sunshine with the W'ly wind force 5 to 6. Pressure 1005 mb was rising with low-pressure 971 mb to the N and high-pressure 1034 mb developing in mid-Atlantic N of the Azores. But low-pressure disturbances to the NW brought convective clouds into Ireland during the day with thunderstorms breaking out. These made their way across the Irish Sea by the end of the mostly sunny afternoon. We missed out on the first wave at dusk, but caught the second with thunder heard from 2141 GMT. As the storms got closer there was lightning and more thunder and a moderate shower of 7 mm hail at 2154 GMT. Many households in Britain were without electrical power for the third night. The Napoli, with 2 French tugs in attendance, was beached off the Devon coast after attempts to take the vessel into harbour was abandoned due to 'serious structural failure'. Pollution control measures have been put in place including a boom around the vessel which is lying close to the 'World Heritage' designated coastline. [Rain 3.8 mm; Max 8.3C; Min 6.0C; Grass 3.5C]
21st: There were shower early over the Snowdonia Mountains and it was just cold enough for the precipitation to be of ice. Deposits were lying at 2500 ft but was as low as 1600 ft at the foot of the Black Ladders. Here it was a sunny morning with pressure 1008 mb rising. There was intensifying high-pressure 1034 mb to the W over the Atlantic and this would edge E and bring a change to colder weather over the next few days. But, we still had a complex weather system over Britain associated with a low-pressure trough from low 977 mb over the Baltic. The morning had some sunshine at first then turned cloudier around midday with a slight shower of small ice pellets at 1350 GMT. There were further skits later and a heavier shower of rain at 1700 GMT. From 1930 GMT there was precipitation associated with an occluded front, rain at first but turning wintry by midnight. [Rain 10.8 mm; Max 5.9C; Min 3.4C; Grass 0.8C]
22nd: At midnight there was a moderate shower of snow pellets some snow flakes and sleet. There was further precipitation around 0300 GMT before the sky started to clear. At 09 GMT there was snow lying on the Snowdonia Mountains generally above 1000 ft, but a sprinkling was seen in the Ogwen valley as low 500 ft. Pressure 1008 mb was rising with the Atlantic-high 1045 mb SE Iceland. The low-pressure had moved E over Russia and, between the two, a colder NE'ly airflow from the Arctic had been introduced. The morning was mostly sunny and, with further sky clearance by 11 GMT, it was a mostly sunny day with solar radiation brightest since 9 November 2006. The wind lessened and backed N'ly during the afternoon. It was a mostly clear evening. [Rain trace; Max 5.7C; Min 2.1C; Grass 0.7C]
23rd: There was a little moderately high cloud around at night and with a light breeze the air temperature kept above 1.8C. The temperature on the grass, exposed to the N/NE'ly wind, did not fall below 0.2C but I did find a thin layer of ice on a sheltered tray of water kept for the birds. I found a sprinkling of small, 1-2 mm diameter perfectly conical snow pellets on the ground. It was a sunny morning with good views of the snow lying on the Snowdonia Mountains above 1000 ft. Pressure was 1028 mb with the high 1043 mb to the W, a shallow low 1022 mb was tracking S over the Norwegian Sea bringing a warm front on to NW Scotland. Low 998 mb was over the S France. The day turned out to be cloudier than yesterday with a daytime maximum of 3.6C. At dusk with pressure falling the approaching warm front was over the Irish Sea; from 1800 to 1830 GMT with the temperature falling to 1.7C there was precipitation of small snowflakes turning to sleet. The temperature fall was likely due to the snowflakes melting and extracting heat from the air. With the precipitation turning increasing to rain the temperature rose again. [Rain 2.6 mm; Max 5.5C; Min 1.8C; Grass 0.2C]
24th: The maximum temperature was reached 5.5C around 01 GMT and, as the sky started to clear by 03 GMT, to fall again to 3.0C in the air and -1.0C on the grass. At 09 GMT it was mostly cloudy and the temperature had risen to 4.8C (dewpoint 1.2C). The Atlantic-high to the W was 1042 mb, but shallow lows were over the N Sea with associated frontal cloud patches over Britain. At 09 GMT pressure 1017 mb was rising and the sky was 6/8th covered with cumulus, stratocumulus and above could be seen jetstream cirrus. During the morning the sky slowly cleared in the moderate NE'ly breeze and there were some sunny spells before noon. The afternoon was cloudy at times, but cleared again towards dusk. The evening was frost-free in the moderate NE'ly wind. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 5.7C; Min 1.7C; Grass -1.0C]
25th: The wind lessened after midnight and with mostly clear sky we had the first touch of air frost (-0.3C) this year and of the winter; the last frost of -0.6C was on 10 April 2006. It was the only air frost recorded in the month. On the grass dew was frozen with a grass minimum of -3.4C, lowest of the month. At 09 GMT there was little cloud and pressure 1029 mb was rising. It was a sunny morning with just a light NNE'ly air; relative humidity dropped to 48% as the temperature rose to 7.5C. By noon high cirrus clouds had increased to 6/8 cover, but it continued sunny and the day received the highest amount solar radiation (6.13 mv h) so far this month. There was still plenty of snow on the tops of the mountains, but some places on lower slopes were looking patchy. By 16 GMT frontal cloud could be seen to the NW and this brought a little rain across by 1730 GMT. {Fair Isle 9C, Tulloch Bridge -6C, Jersey 7.3 mm, Falmouth 8.4h, Valley 7.5h}[Rain 1.6 mm; Max 7.5C; Min -0.3C; Grass -3.4C]
26th: There was intermittent light rain and drizzle after midnight until about 05 GMT and it was still overcast at 09 GMT. Pressure 1026 mb was rising, with the Atlantic-high 1035 mb W of Ireland drifting S, but thickening cloud (associated with the warm front) brought drizzle and intermittent light rain through the afternoon. The day was sunless but there was some broken cloud overhead by 22 GMT as the front cleared. [Rain 1.9 mm; Max 7.5C; Min 0.3C; Grass -3.2C]
27th: A brighter morning; at 09 GMT pressure was 1035 mb, but there was more broken cloud associated with another warm front making its way S over the UK. The morning was occasionally bright as the sky struggled to clear, but gave up by noon. The afternoon was overcast and there was a spell of drizzle around 1330 GMT. The evening was overcast too. [Rain 0.1 mm; Max 7.9C; Min C; Grass C]
28th: It was still overcast by morning although the cloud, base about 2000 ft against the Snowdonia Mountains, was thinning a little. Pressure 1032 mb was falling and there was a light W'ly breeze. There was a flash of sunshine midmorning but then it returned to the gloom for the afternoon and continued overcast into the night. {Leuchars 13C, Ross-on-Wye 2C, Loch Glascarnoch 18 mm, Scarborough 5.5h} [Rain trace/dew; Max 9.4C; Min 5.1C; Grass 4.0C]
29th: Pressure was steady on 1031 mb with high 1032 mb over S Ireland. There was just a light air (force 1) from the NW and visibility was moderate (6 km) with mist obscuring my view of the Snowdonia Mountains. The temperature was 6.3C with a dewpoint of 6.1C (RH 98%), a check with the whirling hygrometer indicated 95%. Cloud overhead seemed to be breaking up and with a grass minimum of 1.2C dew had condensed on the rain gauge funnel. There was a lot of bird sing on this quiet morning; mistle thrushes and blackbirds were trying out their repertoires and several noisy rooks were visiting their nests inspecting damage after recent gales. It says something for their construction as many nests appear to be intact, albeit in need of a little repair work perhaps. Greater spotted woodpeckers had also started to drum on resonant branches of trees. The broken cloud soon closed over again and the day was dull and sunless. Scotland had all the day's extremes. {Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire 12C, Baltasound 1C, Loch Glascarnoch 9 mm, Leuchars 6.3h} [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 8.6C; Min 5.0C; Grass 1.2C]
30th: Another overcast night with an air minimum of 4.9C and a little lower 4.2C on the slightly wet grass; droplets of water on the tips of grass leaves were due to guttation. Pressure was 1028 mb with the high 1029 mb over the Celtic Sea. It was another dull and sunless day here, but the sky cleared during the afternoon in Caernarfon where it was sunny. Anglesey remained enveloped in cloud and the sun appearing below the cloudsheet only at sunset. For the second day running Scotland captured all the extremes values. {Aberdeen 12C, Aboyne -5C, Lerwick 7.4C, Eskdalemuir 4.9h} [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 7.7C; Min 4.9C; Grass 4.2C]
31st: Another mild night under the cloud blanket, but the SW'ly wind had picked up to force 4 and this morning the grass was dry! Pressure was 1022 mb within the Atlantic-high anchored to the SW. We were still under thick cloud off the Irish Sea and the morning was dull and sunless with a little rain moving on to the western coastline by 1300 GMT. At the stations 0900 GMT weather report in the MetLinkInternational 2007 project, the icebreaker patrol vessel HMS Endurance in the South Atlantic 63^° S and 6^° W was also taking part, and reported ice to starboard. Other reading were temperature 0.8C, 94% relative humidity, 8 oktas stratus cloud cover, and snow was falling. They were heading into a force 6 E'ly towards a depression and were to release a radio-sonde balloon to relay upper air conditions back to the Met Office in Exeter. Nothing as exciting here as during the afternoon under thickening cloud there was fine drizzle with the visibility reducing to very poor (1 km). But, I did find an active ladybird in the garden and 2 slugs grazing grass on my micro lysimeters. Both species no doubt active because of the unseasonably warm January weather. Also I spotted a small hedgehog unfortunately killed on the road brought out of hibernation to look for food. It saves on heating fuel costs, but warm winter weather is a real problem for hibernating animals, they need colder weather. Also dead on the roadside was a fox. It became drier during the evening and less windy, but there was no clearance in the sky by 21 GMT.[Rain mm; Max C; Min 4.8C; Grass 3.9C]

The month ended with a mean temperature of 6.9C (+1.4) and [+2.0] of the January average. It was the warmest January on record here since before 1979 and, the Met Office says, in the UK since 1916. Rainfall was 138.2 mm (138%) and [141%] of average. There was only 1 air frost, this -4.0 days of average, but we had no air frosts in Januaries of 1990, 2000 and 2005 so it's not that unusual. Ground frosts numbered 4, this (-9.8) of average. The soil temperature at 30 cm was 7.0C, (+1.8) and the grass grew throughout the month, again not that unusual here. Sunshine was near average.

February

1st: Another rather murky morning overcast with altostratus cloud and fog in the Menai Strait. The overnight minimum temperature was 7.5C, highest of the month. The temperature here was 8.2C and would be higher on the mountaintops today. Radio-sonde upper air readings at Nottingham at midnight indicated a lower temperature around 4.6C at 2750 ft, but 11.2C at 3400 ft. The photograph taken at 1113 GMT shows a view of the Carneddau Mountains (3485 ft) from the weather station. Snowdon was in the clear too this morning! Pressure 1030 mb was rising and some clearer sky could be seen later to the SE beyond the mountains, but it never reached here, the day was sunless but the temperature rose to 10.7C. As the cold front began to move heading SE during the evening, there was no precipitation, but as the cloud began to break up fog formed from 2100 GMT reducing visibility to 100 m. [Rain trace fog/dew; Max 10.7C; Min 7.5C; Grass 3.8C]

2nd: The fog persisted intermittently until after midnight but cleared away by about 02 GMT. From about 0530 GMT the sky was fairly clear and the air temperature began to fall to the minimum of 4.3C at 0830 GMT. At 0815 shallow mist formed on the field adjacent to the weather station persisting for about 20 minutes. At 09 GMT pressure 1035 mb was rising and the temperature risen to 6.3C. The sun was behind a bank of clouds over the Snowdonia Mountains and rose, above the sharply delineated cloud, at 0912 GMT. There had been 0.3 mm of fog and dew deposited on the grass (measured by micro lysimeters), but as the sun rose this began to dry off. Pressure 1035 mb was rising with a high 1039 mb intensifying SW of Ireland. The morning was mostly sunny with some fair weather cumulus clouds moving across the sky on the NE'ly breeze. By 1300 GMT their had been 0.6 mm of evapotranspiration. The afternoon was sunny too with the temperature rising to 9.5C. As the sun was setting the temperature above the grass fell to 1.8C and dew started to form. By 1700 GMT, just after sunset at 1653 GMT, sufficient dew had formed to replace any evaporation during the afternoon. The evening was clear with fine views of Venus in the western sky. {Saunton Sands 15C, Katesbridge 0C, Lerwick 8.1 mm, Anglesey, Valley 8.1h) [Rain trace dw+fg; Max 9.5C; Min 4.3C; Grass 0.4C]
3rd: A clear night and morning with the sun rising over the Carneddau Mountains at 0821 GMT. The grass was white with 0.4 mm frozen deposits of dew and fog measured by micro lysimeter. Pressure had risen to 1040.8 mb and we were near the centre of the high. There was a light air from the NE that strengthened a little during the day and reduced again by evening. The temperature rose to 11.9C with the relative humidity falling to 51%. The day was cloudless, I did see 2 contrails during the afternoon, but these did not persist in the sky. The sun set at 1655 GMT giving 8.6 h sunshine; allowing 6 minutes at sunrise and again at sunset for reaction time if sunshine recorders this gives 8.4 h 'recorder sunshine'. Although we had the maximum possible sunshine hours at this time of year we were beaten by Herne Bay, Kent with 8.8h. The evening was at first clear with dew then frost forming on the grass, but fog rolled across about 21 GMT. Near Prestatyn around 1800 GMT a reported 50 sea anglers became lost in thick fog on Talacre beach and were guided ashore by Coastguards using sirens. {Aboyne 12.8C, Katesbridge -6.1C, Herne Bay 8.8 h, no appreciable rainfall} [Rain trace dw+fg; Max 11.9C; Min 1.0C; Grass -3.2C]
4th: Most of the night was clear, with frost on the ground and bright moonlight, but I did see fog around between 03 and 04 GMT. It was another bright and sunny morning with some beautiful colours, ranging from peach to dark red, before sunrise over the Carneddau. At 09 GMT visibility was good >12 km, but there was fog in the vicinity (Red Wharf Bay) and rolling up the Menai Strait from Liverpool Bay. At over 300 ft we miss this but it did come across for a while between 0920 and 1030 GMT reducing visibility to 1 km at times. Over night deposition of frosted dew and fog averaged 0.4 mm, measured by micro lysimeters. There was a trace in the rain gauge bottle. Pressure 1034 mb was falling with a slack ridge persisting across Britain W to E. For a time the sky was cloudier, but started to clear again by 1100 GMT giving another mostly sunny afternoon. The maximum temperature reached in the Stevenson screen was 9.5C. The light NE'ly off Red Wharf Bay persisted, but in the garden humming sounds attracted me to look at flowering Ericas on a sheltered rockery bank. It was covered with honeybees, attracted out of a neighbours hives by the sunshine. There was a large bumble bee too. We have different Ericas, somewhat out of favour in gardening circles at the moment, in flower in every month of the year. They are thoroughly recommended providing interest all the year round, and good for bees and flying insects. And, nothing to do with climate change I must say! So there is something for the bees to find any day they fancy a flight, it does seem a little early for them as the last 2 years have seen them about in March. At 1700 GMT the fog was blowing in again off the sea, visibility was down to < 500 m. The temperature was 2.9C and dewpoint 2.6C, theoretically a 25% chance of ice precipitation but there was none. [Rain trace dw+fg; Max 9.5C; Min 0.5C; Grass -2.9C]
5th : At midnight a cold front was making its way S but it was weak and associated cloud breaking up; with pressure remaining high there was no precipitation to record. By morning the sky was clearing and although pressure 1022 mb continued to fall it was a fine day with some good sunny spells. [Rain 0.1 mm; Max 7.0C; Min 1.5C; Grass -0.7C]
6th: A sprinkling of small snow pellets and snow up to 5 mm deep almost covered the ground and was glistening in the morning sunshine. Snow had fallen over a large part of the island and in the SE corner. In places it was lying 2 cm deep, some schools were shut as a result, but it gave children the chance to build some small snowmen. Parts of the Snowdonia Mountains appeared not to have had any snowfall, there was some on the tops of Foel-fras and Drum early in the day and north Lleyn Peninsula. The MODIS AQUA satellite image shows the distribution of the snow at 1305 GMT when some had melted. Using channels 7, 2 and 1, snow and cold cloudtops show up pale blue against the green of land surface or black coloured sea. . Pressure 1010 mb was still falling. The sky was clear apart from some cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds passing to the north of us over Liverpool Bay. The morning was mostly sunny and with little or no wind at SW entrance to the Menai Strait at Caernarfon the water had barely a ripple under the blue sky. One of the passing cumulonimbus clouds can be seen in the photograph. The maximum temperature struggled to reach 4.9C and the afternoon was at times a little cloudier, but the visibility was exceptionally good and being over 80 km the Isle of Man could be seen. The evening was mostly clear with bright stars visible and the air temperature had fallen to -0.2C by 2000 GMT. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 4.9C; Min -2.0C; Grass -6.3C]
7th: With clear sky the air temperature fell to -3.1C just after dawn and to -7.8C on the frosty white grass, both temperatures lowest of the month. The soil surface was frozen, but concrete was dry. Overnight dew was small but there had been hoar frost and the total deposited was 0.2 mm. It was another sunny morning with just a little cloud on the SW horizon heralding the front that could bring some more snow to southern and western parts overnight. Pressure 1002 mb continued to fall during the day reaching 998 mb at 1700 GMT when the frontal cloud had just passed over the weather station. During the evening the temperature fell to -1C and -3.4 on the grass, but rose again at 2100 GMT when the relative humidity was 44%. At midnight the temperature was 1.6C. {Guernsey 9C, Sennybridge, Powys -9.7C, Lerwick 7.2 mm, Herne Bay 8.9h} [Rain 0.1; Max 6.3C; Min -3.1C; Grass -7.8C]
8th: After midnight the temperature started falling again to a minimum of -2.5C. A dusting of small (1-2 mm) snow pellets and snow lay on the ground at dawn. Concrete and cold surfaces were nearly 100% covered, but soil and grassy areas were only 40% covered. Pressure at 09 GMT had fallen to 984 mb, had bottomed and started to rise; there was light snow lying on the Snowdonia Mountains upwards from 500 ft. With an air temperature of -0.4C the 'bitter' E'ly wind was force 4/5 and there were odd small snowflakes and pellets on the wind. The day kept overcast and sunless with flurries of snow at times. As the wind moderated and turned S'ly the temperature rose to 2.2C, the lowest maximum of the month. Today's mean temperature was -0.2C, lowest of the month. Most of Anglesey escaped the heavy fall of snow, but snow was lying in the NW of the island stretching from Holyhead, where 1 school was closed, to Valley and Môna Airfields. Further S in Wales, away from the west coast, and parts of S England 7-12 cm of snow was reported and many schools were shut for the day with the usual chaos developing on the roads. [Rain trace; Max 2.2C; Min -2.5C; Grass -5.8C]
9th: An overcast and grey morning with recent slight snow accumulated on the roof of the Stevenson screen, about 3 mm deep, but just a scattering on the ground. The temperature was 1.4C and the dewpoint -0.8C. On higher ground on the mainland there was snow lying above 750 ft and more on the summits of the Carneddau and Snowdon ranges. During the morning the sky cleared and the afternoon was mostly sunny with the temperature reaching 3.8C. The snowline retreated to 1000 ft during the day, but the mountaintops were well covered at 1700 GMT. With the sky clear in the west after sunset there was a good view of Venus and Mercury in close proximity (position about 7 o'clock). Later cloud encroached again and there were a few small flakes of snow with the sky was overcast at 1920 GMT. {Jersey 11C, Shap Fell -8C, Culdrose 36 mm, Kinloss 5.3h} [Rain 2.8 mm; Max 3.8C; Min -0.8C; Grass -4.2C]
10th: There was light sleety rain from just before 06 GMT. At 09 GMT the temperature was 2.3C (dewpoint of 1.8C) and a 40% chance of ice precipitation. Wet snow was lying on the mountains at 750 ft and down to 500 ft on slopes near Bethesda and in the Ogwen Valley. As the sky cleared moderate accumulations could be seen on the mountaintops where, in the E'ly wind, small cornices had developed on some rocky ridges on the Carneddau. With the temperature rising (to 9.0C here) thaw of the snow was rapid so that at 1300 GMT it was looking very patchy at 1500 ft and at the end of the still sunny day even the mountaintops. By evening more cloud was moving across the sky and there was slight rain from 2200 GMT. Precipitation over the 24-h (09 to 09 GMT) was 11.1 mm, largest of the month. {Guernsey 13C, Southend -4C, Newcastle 20 mm, Hawarden 17 mm, Lerwick 4.6h} [Rain 11.1 mm; Max 9.0C; Min 0.9C; Grass -0.5C]
11th: Frontal cloud moved across during the night the slight rain at midnight becoming showery with heavy bursts around 04 and 0630 GMT included small ice pellets. At 09 GMT the sky had cleared to 2 oktas and pressure 984 mb was rising. The view towards the mountains was misty with visibility only moderate. It was a sunny morning with a deep blue sky and a light SW'ly breeze. During the afternoon there was broken cloud but it kept bright although the SW'ly wind freshened to force 5. By evening frontal cloud associated with low 974 mb SW Ireland encroached and there was drizzle followed by rain from 2300 GMT. {Guernsey 13C, Buxton 0C, Aboyne 32 mm, Valley 4.6h} [Rain 3.8 mm; Max 10.5C; Min 2.3C; Grass -0.6C]
12th: Rain continued until 0130 then was showery until past 0400 GMT. At 09 GMT the sky had cleared a little (6/8), but pressure 978 mb was falling with low 976 mb over Wales tracking eastward. With just 3.8 mm of rainfall the ground felt soft and soggy underfoot. Apart from free-drainage there is little evaporation at this time of year, so although the beginning of the month was dry there had been little loss of water. There was a glimpse of sunshine around 10 GMT, but cloud thickened again before noon and there was a shower of rain at 1230 GMT. The afternoon was cloudy with a little showery rain from time to time that continued into the evening. {Falmouth 12C & 5.2h, Dunkeswell Devon 20 mm, Capel Curig 15 mm}[Rain 1.0 mm; Max 8.3C; Min 5.1C; Grass 2.8C]
13th: Pressure 1004 mb had risen in a transient ridge and once again the sky had cleared a little (6/8), but the brightness soon passed by. At first in the light S'ly wind cloud was high and some lenticular clouds (lee-wave) were seen upwind of the summit of Snowdon and, in a patch of blue overhead, some jetstream cirrus. In the far west low darker frontal cloud, associated with Atlantic-low 964 mb SW of Iceland, had already brought a band of rain over SW Ireland and the Celtic Sea. The afternoon was increasingly gloomy as thicker cloud moved in slowly from the W. There was fine drizzle in Caernarfon at 1530 GMT but it did not reached here until 1700 GMT. There was intermittent and showery light rain from 1730 to 2300 GMT. [Rain 1.2 mm; Max 8.6C; Min 5.5C; Grass 3.2C]
14th: Cloud started to break-up after midnight and the night clear at times. Some cloudiness at dawn was clearing away before 09 GMT (5/8) and the air temperature fell to 2.0C and -1.2C on the grass in a cool light SE'ly air off the Snowdonia Mountains. Dew at the tips of grass laminae froze into clear drops but soon thawed again as the temperature started to rise. Pressure 1002 mb was rising in another transient ridge of high-pressure from the SW crossed over. The morning became sunny under a clear blue sky with a light NW'ly breeze. The afternoon was sunny at first with the temperature rising to 12.2C, but thin moderately high altostratus cloud soon encroached from the west.

The first 14 days had a mean temperature of 4.9C (-1.0) of the decadal and [-0.4] of the 1971-2000 average. Rainfall was 20.1 mm (19%) and [27%] of average.

After the cold spell temperatures rose to above average bringing forward the development of several indicator plant species. Bluebell leaves had emerged and were standing 5 cm tall in the wood on the 25th. Lesser celandine was flowering in hedgerows and garden on the 14th while the sticky buds on horse chestnut were showing the first signs of bursting on the 25th. The white flowers of blackthorn appeared and the first fluffy catkins of willow were opening on the 27th. Comparable flowering dates in 1996 were 2 months later in April, blackthorn on the 12th and 'pussy' willow on the 16th. On the 26th flowers of the Glory-of-the-snow, a bulbous plant related to the squills (Scilla) but not native, were starting to emerge . Last year, after the heavy snow in early March they were flowering on the 18th. The dwarf white rhododendron is always early and the first of its type to come into flower.

Although the first 14 days temperatures were below average the end of the month had above average. The month finished with a mean of 6.4C (+0.5) of the decadal and [+1.1] of the 30-y average. It was highest since 2002. The soil temperature at 30 cm averaged 6.3C (+0.4). Rainfall continued below average and totalled 52.7 mm (50%) and [70%] of average, smallest since 2003.

March

1st: DYDD DEWI SANT: It was a bright morning that greeted St. David's Day, and there were daffodils out in the garden and I have seen a few around the village since St. Valentine's Day, on the 14th February. But there was no snow this year, the 1st March 2006 was white and snow lay on the ground for the first 6 days of the month. As well as daffodils in flower the Glory-of-the-snow flowers have opened. Pressure 990 mb was rising as a maturing low, N of Scotland yesterday, tracked SE across the North Sea. Sunny spells that developed through the morning continued into the afternoon. There were showers about and people were caught unawares in a 'sunshine' shower in Caernarfon about 3 pm and I caught sight of a snow shower on the mountains that left a sprinkling of snow across Drum and Foel-fras, there may have been other peaks with some, but they, including Snowdon, were obscured in cloud. It kept dry here until 1845 GMT when there was slight precipitation. There was a hint of sleet, but the temperature was rather high on 5.8C with a dew point of 4.4C indicative of a 35% chance of ice precipitation. I would not be surprised to find a little more on the mountains the next morning. [Rain trace; Max 10.4C; Min 3.7C; Grass 0.5C]
2nd: Pressure 1002 mb at midnight was rising as a ride of high-pressure began to cross from the W. The night was mostly clear and on the grass the temperature fell to -3.2C so freezing deposits of rain and dew. At 07 GMT the grass was white, but by 09 GMT the temperature had risen to 6.0C and the frost had melted. I was not disappointed when I saw a snow on the mountaintops, but the amount was too small! Patchy cloud was moving along on the force 3/4 S'ly wind and, at times, altocumulus lenticularis (lee-wave) clouds were seen over the eastern end of the Menai Strait at Beaumaris. The morning was mostly sunny at first but it was cloudier by noon. The next weather system, associated with low 978 mb S of Greenland, had already brought rain across Ireland and halfway across the Irish Sea, but the afternoon had just a few spots of rain at times. There was light rain from just before 2100 to 2300 GMT. [Rain 3.0 mm; Max 10.6C; Min 1.2C; Grass -3.1C]
3rd: After a shower of rain around 04 GMT the sky slowly cleared and the morning on Anglesey became mostly sunny under a blue sky; stratocumulus clouds persisted over the Snowdonia Mountains. Pressure 1004 mb was rising at 09 GMT. There was a moderate SW'ly breeze. The day was mostly sunny with only a little cloud at times; in the afternoon visibility was clear. By evening the sky was clear and there were great views of the eclipsed moon. Starting about 2224 GMT it was totally eclipsed by 2245 GMT taking on a pale copper appearance, but I have seen a darker colour during past eclipses. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 12.0C; Min 4.2C; Grass 0.1C]
4th: Overcast at dawn and pressure 1002 mb at 09 GMT was falling with deepening low 964 mb tracking N west of Ireland. Rain spread in from the SW reaching here at 0930 GMT and continued until 1700 GMT. The wind was strong to gale-force at times. At 2154 GMT we were hit by a violent gust, heavy rain and ice pellets. All over in 10 minutes, but it broke off a branch from another pine tree the other side of the road. [Rain 8.1 mm; Max 11.4C; Min 3.6C; Grass 0.3C]
5th: Further shower of rain and ice pellets about 02 GMT then things were quieter until morning. It was still overcast at dawn, but before 09 GMT the sky was clearing and there was a little sunshine. With the low 953 mb between Cape Wrath and Iceland pressure 1001 mb here rose until noon then started to fall. Another Atlantic-low 976 mb, developing rapidly W of Ireland, was tracking towards us and the afternoon turned stormy with the wind backing S'ly and strengthening to gale force 8. There was rain from noon turning moderate to heavy rain from 1500 GMT as the wind reached severe gale force 9 at times moderating just after midnight when gale-force 8. If it can be believed, the AWS at Clogwyn on Snowdon 2526 ft (courtesy of First Hydro), logged gusts of 106 mph at 1615 GMT and 111 mph at 1915 GMT. (The summit station was offline as the 80-year old 'Cafe' on which it was housed has been demolished in preparation for a replacement building presently under construction. It is costing £8.3 million; it is being prefabricated in a warehouse in Flintshire and will be taken in pieces to the summit (3560 ft) during the summer on the Mountain Railway. Prince Charles once described the old building as 'Wales' highest slum'. The new building, to be know as Hafod Eryri, has been described as 'unusual and beautiful'). It was a wild night even at 330 ft. [Rain 18.8 mm; Max 9.7C; Min 4.4C; Grass 2.2C]
6th: The calm after the storm, well not quite calm as the SW'ly was force 4/5, but it was sunny under an almost clear blue sky. Total rainfall was 18.8 mm, 13.8 h duration (09-09 GMT), not an outstanding amount for here, but the largest fall of the month and of the year so far, enough to saturate the soil surface. Pressure 992 mb was rising as complex low-pressure N of Scotland moved away filling slowly. The morning was sunny and although the afternoon was a little cloudier there was plenty of sunshine until later. At 1740 GMT there was a slight shower of ice pellets and the evening was mostly cloudy. [Rain 2.4 mm; Max 11.3C; Min 5.5C; Grass 3.3C]
7th: A bright morning with pressure 1000 mb rising. Visibility was moderate with a misty outlook towards the Snowdonia Mountains. There was a lot of activity amongst large birds around the weather station. Rooks were carrying twigs, some quite long ones, building their nests and a female blackbird was gathering material for nest building in an old shed. After a few fine spots of rain about 0945 GMT the day was dry and bright with some sunshine at times. Later in the afternoon it turned cloudier. {Falmouth 14C, Shrewsbury 1C, Isle of Skye 15.2 mm, Jersey 10.3h} [Rain 0.5 mm; Max 12.5C; Min 4.0C; Grass 0.8C]
8th: Some rain after midnight that included some ice pellets as there were marks left on the hail pad. The morning was bright with cirrus clouds predominating at first, but cumulus clouds soon developed. Pressure 1022 mb was still rising as a ridge of high-pressure crossed Britain. There was little if any precipitation to be seen on the rainfall radar at 09 GMT, but low 952 mb just S of Greenland had a large frontal system approaching the W of Ireland. The morning was sunny at times but frontal cloud moved across afternoon. The wind backed S'ly and strengthened to force 5 by 1500 GMT and to force 6 by 1700 GMT when rain arrived. There was light to moderate rain until 1900 GMT and a further shower around 21 GMT. [Rain 8.8 mm; Max 10.5C; Min 3.7C; Grass 0.2C]
9th: After midnight there were some clear spells and the temperature dropped to 3.6C but there was no ground frost with 0.0C recorded by the grass minimum thermometer. The sky was clear at 05 GMT but had become overcast by 07 GMT. At 09 GMT pressure 1025 mb was rising as high 1038 mb developed over the Bay of Biscay. Clearance could be seen in the west and this arrived during the morning. The afternoon saw mostly clear skies over Anglesey with stratocumulus clouds persisting over the Snowdonia Mountains. At dusk it was again overcast, but it had been a dry day. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 11.8C; Min 3.6C; Grass 0.0C]
10th: There were one or two breaks in the cloud overhead at 09 GMT. Pressure was steady on 1033 mb with high 1041 mb over the Bay of Biscay but was to decline a little through the day. Deepening low 956 mb S of Greenland tracked slowly NNE to be 944 mb at midnight . Low cloud and occasional drizzle persisted in coastal areas of Anglesey most of the day, but there was some sunshine here in the afternoon. In contrast it was mostly sunny day on the mainland from Llanfairfechan to Conwy. It was windy with the S'ly wind force 5/6. {Aberdeen 15C, Thorney Is. 0C, Loch Glascarnoch 44 mm, Weymouth 10.4h} [Rain trace; Max 11.2C; Min 5.3C; Grass 1.6C]
11th: Overcast with a little drizzle and spots of rain early in the day. At 09 GMT pressure 1024 mb was falling and the S'ly wind force 6. The day kept overcast and windy, but dry right almost up to midnight when there was some drizzle. {London 17.2C and 10.7 h, Capel Curig 9.9 mm} [Rain 1.2 mm; Max 10.6C; Min 7.6C; Grass 6.3C]
12th: A very weak cold front brought some light rain from 0315 to just before 0700 GMT. It was a damp morning but by 09 GMT the cloud was thinning and starting to break up. Pressure 1026 mb was rising and the cloudbase, at 2000 ft viewed against the mountains, soon began to lift and the sky cleared to give sunshine by 1030 GMT. Some patchy cloud came along late in the afternoon, but this clear away again during the evening to give a clear starry night. {East Malling 18.5C, Northolt 0.7C, Drumalbin 19.8 mm, Herne Bay 10.4 h, Valley 8.1h} [Trace/dew; Max 11.8C; Min 6.5C; Grass 6.0C]
13th: There was moderate dew on the grass with the minimum down to 1.0C. The sky, clear before dawn was mostly cloudy leading up to 09 GMT. The temperature 7.4C had risen from the overnight minimum of 4.0C and there was a little sunshine. Pressure 1029 mb had risen with high 1036 mb to the SW and low 968 mb S of Greenland. With high-pressure to the S this is keeping the depressions to the N maintaining the moderate SW'ly airflow. Cloud cover increased during the morning and there was a little drizzle. The afternoon was dry but did the sky did not start clearing until later to give just a few sunny spells before sunset. There was a further spell of cloudiness, and drizzle around 18 GMT, that persisted up to midnight. [Rain 0.3 mm; Max 10.0C; Min 4.0C; Grass 1.0C]
14th: The sky cleared after midnight; there was heavy dew, but no frost (grass minimum 0.0C). At 09 GMT pressure 1036 mb had risen with high 1037 mb to the S. It was a sunny morning with variable cloud of 3 oktas cover. Visibility was moderate (4 km) in mist but improved during the morning. It was a mostly sunny day with clear views of the mountains, but visibility was restricted across the island towards Holyhead. After some cloud passed over at dusk it was clear again at 22 GMT, when the temperature was 6.6C. {Norwich 16C, Shawbury -2C, Lerwick 5.0 mm, Weymouth 11.1h; Hawarden 14.3C, Valley 8.7h} [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 13.0C; Min 4.3C; Grass 0.0C]
15th: Frontal cloud encroached after midnight and the temperature rose slowly until morning. Overcast and dull with a moderate SW'ly wind. Pressure 1027 mb was falling as the high-pressure to the S declined. There were a succession of depressions tracking E over Greenland (982 mb) and Iceland. A cold front tracking SE over W Scotland brought moderate to heavy rain there during the morning. When it reached here the front had weakened and there was only light rain and drizzle from 1130 GMT into the afternoon. By dusk cloud had begun to clear over the west of the island clear sky reaching here during the evening. [Rain 0.9 mm; Max 10.1C; Min 6.6C; Grass 3.9C]

The first 15 days of the month had a mean temperature of 7.8C (+0.5) and [+1.1] of average. Rainfall was 44.0 mm (61%) and [52%] of average. .

16th: There was dew that froze on the grass in the night (grass min -3.3C with 0.17 mm measured deposition), but at daybreak most frost had melted. Pressure 1028 mb was falling slowly as the sky became cloudier towards 09 GMT. Temperatures around the mountaintops were low enough to see a little transient ice precipitation on Snowdon, but rose again during the day. The early brightness turned into a dull overcast day with a little rain and drizzle around 1300 GMT. Drier later and with the temperature rising from the minimum 6.6C at 1400 GMT, but there was a further spell of light rain from 2200 GMT. The blue flowers of glory-of-the-snow in the garden are fully developed, just waiting for the expected cold plunge and snow forecast for Sunday 18th/ Monday 19th. I visited the log store and took inside enough to see us over the next few days. [Rain 1.4 mm; Max 9.6C; Min 1.3C; Grass -3.3C]
17th: A bright morning with breaks in the cumulus clouds. Waiting for 09 GMT observation time I watched a female sparrowhawk trying to catch a breakfast around hanging bird-feeders under a tree in the garden. One of a pair in the area they visit here and near neighbours who also feed the birds. Numbers of greenfinches are well down this year, probably as a result of predation. Collared doves also get taken keeping the numbers down as well. Smaller birds also get taken from time to time, but the larger ones are the main target. Pressure 1024 mb had risen a little and the temperature was on 9.6C (dewpoint 8.4C). With winds likely to turn NW'ly and soon introduce the expected colder arctic air the change will be a shock to the system. At the moment, with a morning temperature of 10C, which is on the long-term average for this date in March, in the sunshine the force 5 W'ly wind did not feel too cold. It did rise to 11.3C, but then the sky become overcast with a little rain in the afternoon. The evening was windy, force 6 to 7 with the temperature around 9.0C. [Rain 6.5 mm; Max 11.3C; Min 6.6C; Grass 5.8C]
18th: The temperature kept up to 9.0C until 01 GMT, but then began to fall as a cold front passed over. There was precipitation of snow pellets and possible snow before the sky mostly cleared and a minimum of 3.4C was reached close to 07 GMT. There was a slight shower of snow pellets at 0745 GMT. At 09 GMT pressure 1006 mb was falling with low 948 mb just E of the Faeroes in the S Norwegian Sea. Some very strong wind were being reported, buoy 62147 recorded 78 mph at 0600 GMT while Fair Isle AWS reported a 10-min mws of 49 mph (force 9) at 0840 GMT. The shipping forecast on the radio this morning forecast the chance of hurricane force 12 in sea area Viking and, something not hear much these days, light to moderate icing in SE Iceland. Also mentioned was a 'polar low' near S Iceland expected to run SE over Northern Ireland and into the Irish Sea by Sunday night. Well, the morning here was bright with a little sunshine, but the NW'ly was force 6/7 and roaring in the tall trees. Readings at 09 GMT indicated a 30% chance of more ice precipitation, but the temperature had risen to 5.0C at 10 am. The morning was sometimes sunny before a shower of snow pellets and snow arrived at 1205 GMT. While most of the mountain summits were obscured in cloud and similar snow showers were seen around some summits. There was a prolonged shower of snow and snow pellets slightly covering the ground at 1330 GMT during which the temperature fell 1.5C from the maximum of 7.2C and the humidity rose from 68% to 82%. When large flaked snow fell around 15 GMT the temperature fell from 6.8C to 2.5C and the humidity rose from 66% to 82%. Snow settled at 500 ft on the mountains, but not here as the end of the afternoon saw more sunshine in a break from the showers. At dusk showers of snow pellets and snow returned and, with temperatures falling, left a sprinkling on the ground but continued to melt. [Rain 4.2 mm; Max 7.2C; Min 3.4C; Grass 0.6C]
19th: There were further slight showers of snow pellets and snow through the night, but there was very little left on the ground in the morning. The hail-pad showed light markings typical of snow pellets. On the Snowdonia Mountains thin snow cover was generally at 750 ft and was down to 400 ft in the Nant Ffrancon Pass near Bethesda, but nearer 800 ft in the Llanberis Pass. Pressure 1001 was rising with the low 961 mb over the Gulf of Bothnia while Atlantic-high 1044 mb was N of the Azores. This meant that we were in a strong N'ly air flow that was packed with showers. The mountaintops, clear at first, soon were enveloped and further light snowfall occurred during the morning. Showers were also going through the Cheshire Gap on the NNW'ly wind and penetrating deeply into England. I tracked a shower cloud that passed through just after 0900 GMT on the rainfall radar. At noon it was S of Birmingham and reached the Isle of Wight around 1400 GMT. Crossing the Channel it was approaching the N coast of France near Caen about 1600 GMT. Here, there was a sleet shower about 1030 GMT then the rest of the day was mostly sunny and dry with the temperature reaching 7.0C. Showers persisted over the mountaintops, and over central Wales, but by the end of the afternoon the snowline had receded to 1500 ft. There were slight showers of snow pellets during the night. The NOAA 18 satellite image shows the extensive showery airflow with marine open and closed (to far W) convective cells, lines of convection E of Iceland. There is further convection over France associated with the low with frontal cloud near N Italy. {Bournemouth 10C, Spadedam -3C, Jersey 13.6 mm, Bognor Regis 8.7C} [Rain trace; Max 7.3C; Min 0.9C; Grass -1.0C]
20th: A fine and dry morning with some sunshine but the strong NE'ly wind made the 3.0C feel very cold. Relative humidity was down to 57% and the Piche evaporimeter indicated 3.2 mm evaporated in the past 24-h, so the grass was dry, but the soil was still moist. Pressure 1020 mb was rising with Atlantic-high 1041 to the SW and lows 981 mb over the Ligurian Sea (N of Corsica) and 984 mb Lapland. This meant we were still in the cold Arctic airflow (strongest in the N North Sea), but the wind had edged to the NE with showers continuing to affect the mainly the N and E of Scotland and E coast of England. The day was mostly sunny and dry here, but there were wintry showers reported at RAF Valley. The day's maximum temperature of 5.0C, was the lowest of the month. {Isle of Man 10.5h, Valley 5.9h }[Rain 0.0 mm; Max 5.0C; Min 2.5C; Grass 1.5C]
21st: At midnight a ridge of high-pressure moved across from the W, with pressure here 1023 mb the wind moderated. With some clear spells overnight there was an air (-0.9C) and ground frost (-5.2C), both lowest of the month. The grass, vegetation and roads were dry so there was no 'white frost' to be seen. Ice could be seen glinting in the morning sunshine on the snow-covered (above 1500 ft) Snowdonia Mountains that were clearly depicted in very good visibility (> 40 km). At 09 GMT the wind here was a light N'ly and at lower levels, especially near the Menai Strait it was calm and there was hardly a ripple on the high spring tide. The morning was mostly sunny and remained so until 1500 GMT when frontal cloud, associated with a low E of Greenland, encroached as the wind backed SW'ly. At 2100 GMT with the temperature on the minimum of 3.2C and wet bulb 2.0C (dewpoint 0.0C) there was light sleet that soon turned to moderate rain. {Barra, Outer Hebrides 10C, Loch Glascarnoch -8C, Suffolk 7.8 mm, Weymouth 11.1h} [Rain 4.1 mm; Max 8.0C; Min -0.9C; Grass -5.2C]
22nd: The rain turned to drizzle after midnight. At 09 GMT visibility was 100 m in low cloud fog. Pressure 1019 mb was rising and the temperature 7.2C (100% relative humidity). By 0930 GMT there was drizzle, but the fog started to lift. The low cloud and occasional drizzle persisted until after 1400 GMT and even then the cloud was slow to clear. It began to clear in Caernarfon and spread along the Menai Strait early in the afternoon, but here not until after 1600 GMT (Valley reported only 0.1h sunshine), the photograph of the Menai Strait shows the cloud lingering over the N of Anglesey. During the front went on south-eastwards into England where slight snow was reported, but Chivenor managed to reach 13C and Kent to have a sunny day with Herne Bay reporting 10.2h sunshine. The evening and night were partly cloudy and dry. {Chivenor 13C, Benson -6C, Milford Haven 10.4 mm, Herne Bay 10.2h} [Rain 0.8 mm; Max 9.3C; Min C; Grass C]
23rd: With some clear spells overnight and little or no wind at times there was moderate dew and just a touch of ground frost (-0.3C). The morning was mostly sunny with a gentle ENE'ly breeze. Pressure 1022 mb was rising in a ridge from Scandinavian-high 1035 mb (it's a while since I reported that) joining with the Azores-high. The low had moved to be over Germany where there was snow. To the W there were fronts associated with low 976 mb near Greenland. It was a pleasant sunny morning with the temperature reaching 9.9C; the afternoon was mostly sunny too with the cool E'ly persisting. There was little or no wind at dusk and I kept a look out for bats, but saw none about. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 10.0C; Min 3.5C; Grass -0.3C]
24th: Mostly clear overnight and clear at dawn. There was light dew that had frozen on the grass and, if you were up early enough, the grass on the fields looked white. Deposition of dew was 0.17 mm, but there was no trace in the copper raingauge. Pressure 1025 mb was still rising and the temperature was 6.5C in a gentle NE'ly breeze. The sky with no clouds at all looked slightly milky-blue to the S and E, an indication of dust and, or, pollutant aerosols in the atmosphere. Dust storms had been prominent across N Africa for the past several weeks and would be a likely source of dust. Visibility was only just good at 12 km and soon deteriorated to poor (2 km). The day kept sunny, and along with the whole western seaboard of Britain, had 10 hours or more of bright sunshine, whereas there was little, or none, along the east coast and Midlands. Aberporth reported 11.6 h and Glasgow 12.2h. The evening was clear at first but frontal cloud encroached from the E by 2000 GMT. {Falmouth 14C, Shap Fell -3C, Herne Bay 3 mm, Glasgow 12.2h} [Valley 11.2h] [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 9.6C; Min 0.5C; Grass -4.7C]
25th: Overcast at dawn and there were only just a few thin patches and hint of milky-blue sky at 09 GMT. Yes, it's summertime again (GMT + 1 hour, daylight saving) so the observations were at 10 am. There had been no rainfall, but there was a light apparently dry deposition of light yellowish-brown dust (MUNSELL® Color Chart 10YR 6/4). Preliminary trajectory analyses indicated that the dust over Anglesey may have originated from a pool of dust within low-pressure over the Mediterranean and southward in an area from Libya to Egypt. Wet deposits of various coloured dust were reported from a wide area of S England including Kent, Surrey, Berkshire and the Midlands. Orange spots were seen in Ramsgate and reddish-brown dust in the Cotswolds. Pressure was steady on 1023 mb with high 1039 mb over the Baltic and low-pressure 983 mb over the Denmark Strait. Remnant frontal cloud broke-up and the day turned sunny with a moderate NE'ly breeze. The haze persisted through the day with the sky at best milky-blue to white. Anglesey (some 6 km away) and Puffin Island viewed across the Lavan Sands from near Llanfairfechan was almost obscured in the afternoon. The setting sun in the evening was an intense red colour the sky remaining clear at night. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max C; Min 3.9C; Grass 0.8C]
26th: A sunny morning with visibility poor (4 km) in moderate haze, but the sky to the NW looked a little bluer this morning. There had been a touch of ground frost (-0.8C) and there was dew on the grass that measured 0.26 mm, but there was none in the raingauge. Pressure was steady on 1022 mb with high 1040 mb over S Norway and Sweden. Low 992 mb was over the Denmark Strait while there was general low-pressure over Spain and N Africa. The morning had hazy sunshine and in the a gentle E'ly the temperature rose to 12.0C by noon and got a little higher in the afternoon as the haze persisted. A few cumulus clouds were seen over the Snowdonia Mountains through the haze, but dispersed alter. The sunset was a glowing red colour but not as deep as yesterday. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 12.8C; Min 3.3C; Grass -0.8C]
27th: No cloud again this morning, the sky was again a little bluer, but the haze was moderate and visibility just 4 km. Pressure 1018 mb was steady and there was a light NE'ly breeze here most of the day. The temperature rose to 16.8C, highest of the month and of the year so far. In Capel Curig 18.4C was reported, but was exceeded by the 18.6C in Herstmonceux, Sussex. Through haze I saw one small cumulus cloud to the SW during the afternoon, it persisted about 20 minutes! Many places recorded more than 10 h of sunshine. During the evening the temperature on the grass fell to -1.8C and it became misty and fog developed before midnight. [Rain trace/fog; Max 16.8C; Min 4.4C; Grass -1.0C]
28th: The fog at 06 GMT was dense with visibility <100 m. Trees were dripping steadily with the sound of gentle rain. The raingauges were wet, recording a trace, but the dewpads collected 0.22 mm. At 09 GMT visibility had improved to 200 m, and the trees had stopped dripping. The morning was calm and, with low cloud and fog persisting over the Irish Sea, no further clearance. The afternoon saw the fog thin a little, but it remained sunless with the temperature struggling to reach 8.3C. By late afternoon the fog had cleared, but the sky was overcast. There was a little light rain from 2230 GMT that contained a little pink to light reddish-brown dust . [Rain 0.2 mm; Max 8.3C; Min 1.4C; Grass -1.8C]
29th: After midnight there sky started to clear and the temperature dropped to 2.4C with frost on the ground. It was a much brighter morning and with the fog cleared away visibility was good. There was cloud on the mountaintops but snow cover could be seen above 2750 ft between breaks. There was further showery ice precipitation through the morning and transient sprinklings were seen at 2500 ft. We were in a showery NW'ly airflow, but you were unlucky to catch one. Here the day was mostly cloudy and dry with some sunshine at times. There was a moderate shower of rain and a few ice pellets in Caernarfon about 1245 GMT. The view of Caernarfon Castle and Harbour Quay shows the cumulus shower clouds. It was low water and the River Seiont that flows through the harbour and past the Castle could be seen . In winter boats are hauled out and placed along the quay used for visitors car parking in the summer months. There was some work going on preparing the boats for the coming season despite the weather. The Harbour Offices were built in 1840 . There was a further shower later inland from Y Felinheli, but it was dry on the Bridges. During the evening the sky became overcast here and was dry until some light rain fell around 2100 GMT containing some pink to light reddish-brown dust (MUNSELL® Color Chart 5YR 7/3 - 6/3) . [Rain 1.3 mm; Max 9.7C; Min 2.4C; Grass -1.8C]
30th: A shower at 06 GMT with a few small ice pellets and light rain and heavy drizzle in low cloud blowing in off Liverpool Bay persisted to after 10 GMT. Visibility was very poor (<1 km) at first and the NE'ly wind was force 3. The day was slow to brighten but the mist thinned and although the afternoon was hazy there was a little sunshine. Later the sky became overcast once again. [Rain 0.2 mm; Max 10.0C; Min 4.9C; Grass 3.8C]
31st: A very murky morning with poor to moderate and 5/8 cloud cover. There was a moderate NE'ly breeze so that the 7.0C temperature at 09 GMT felt rather chilly. The sky slowly cleared, but was a milky blue colour again, and the afternoon was mostly sunny with a little cloud observed at times. In the garden the glory-of-the-snow had come into full flower during the month, see photo on the 1st for comparison. The horse chestnut, with leaves unfolding and flower buds developing, was the most advanced mature tree at the weather station . . The evening and night were clear with a bright not quite full moon. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 11.1C; Min 6.2C; Grass 4.2C]

The end of the month was drier so that the rainfall total reached only 62.7 mm, (87%) and [74%] of average. Temperatures were close to average and finished with a mean of 7.1C (-0.3) and [+0.3]. There was 1 (-1.6) air frost and 10 (-1.4) ground frosts. It was the 6th sunniest since before 1930.

April

1st: An almost cloud-free morning, I had to look hard to find some clouds and spotted a small cumulus to the NE over Liverpool Bay and a line of stratocumulus beyond low on the horizon like to be over Cumbria. Pressure was 1035 mb with high 1038 mb Scotland and Baltic; pressure was low 1009 mb over Iberia with unsettled weather continuing around the Mediterranean. Between the high and low pressure we were in a NE'ly airflow, strongest in S England and least in Scotland. The day was mostly sunny, 1 or 2 cumulus did blow in on the f4 wind during the morning, but dispersed overhead. The afternoon was sunny with good to moderate visibility later in the persistent haze. A very deep red sunset to the NW was close to 1825 GMT and soon to the SE the moon rose with a pale orange colour. As it got higher in the sky the colour paled and at 21 GMT, when high in the sky, was whiter and bright. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 10.8C; Min 2.5C; Grass 0.2C]
2nd: Another hard-to-spot clouds morning, there was some altostratus to the NE over Liverpool Bay and this got a 1 okta rating. I had not got to the screen when I heard the first chiffchaff singing in the willow tree, a sure sign that spring had arrived. We still had the cool moderate NE'ly and visibility was only moderate with smoke and dust haze. Pressure was 1034 mb with the high 1039 mb to the NW off the Western Isles of Scotland. The soil surface, just moist at at 09 GMT, became dry during the day. The morning became cloudier as thin high cloud moved across the sky, but kept mostly sunny into the afternoon. By evening the cloud cleared away and at 21 GMT, with the moon high in the sky, there were several brightly-lit contrails crossing the sky. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 12.6C; Min 4.1C; Grass 1.4C]
3rd: The sky remained mostly clear until after 02 GMT when remnant frontal cloud moved over from the N and was overcast by dawn. At 09 GMT with pressure 1032 mb still high a chink of blue sky was seen and the cloud gradually moved away giving a sunny morning leaving frequent contrails. Visibility to the S was very good in clearer air, but the afternoon was cloudier and although there were sunny spells the temperature struggled to reach 10C, lowest of the month, in the fresh (f5) NE'ly. During the evening the sky cleared again and the night was clear. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 10.0C; Min 4.2C; Grass 2.6C]
4th: Almost a clear sky, and blue too, as the haze had cleared and visibility was good to the S and W, but smoke haze was seen to the E. Overnight measured dewfall was 0.17 mm and if you were about early enough a white frost with the grass minimum reading -1.4C, lowest of the month. At 09 GMT with pressure on 1030 mb there was 3/8th cover of cirrus clouds and these increased to 6/8 cover at times in the afternoon. Along with much of the western seaboard it was a very sunny day with Valley reporting 12.1 h. The end of the afternoon was hazier once more and after some patchy cloud passing during the evening the sky was clear at 21 GMT. [Trace, dew and fog; Max 12.4C; Min 1.8C; Grass -1.4C]

Lesser celandines have increased in abundance around the garden and roadside verges the last 10 years. Here they are seen massed in the garden around snowdrops that have finished flowering and on the right around garden Fritillaries.

5th: After midnight fog and cloud developing over Liverpool Bay encroached and by dawn visibility was <200 m. By 09 GMT visibility had improved but it was still misty and the morning re,aimed overcast. Pressure 1026 mb continued to decline slowly, but the high 1027 centred W of Shannon, Ireland, still dominated the weather. At 1130 GMT the cloud began to break up and by 1300 GMT had almost cleared away to give a sunny afternoon. Smoke haze was seen over the Snowdonia Mountains possibly the result of gorse and grass fires. It felt a little warmer out of the light NNE'ly breeze with the temperature reaching 14.5C. The evening and night were clear with some mist developing in low-lying areas. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 14.3C; Min 3.2C; Grass -0.2C]
6th: A sunny morning with high cirrus clouds, a few small cumulus and cirrocumulus. Pressure was 1028 mb and visibility was good with slight haze. Cattle have been put out on the surrounding fields and the sheep, that have been around through the winter and lately with their lambs moved off. Taking advantage of the dry spell of weather some fields have been ploughed and will be seeded with barley. I looked hard at my vegetable plot this year, could I manage another year? Out came the fork to test the soil and with less below average rainfall it was lighter than usual. A few test rows showed that my back seemed up to the job for another year! We have grown vegetables for years and there is none better for flavour than those picked from your own plot. Apart from the cirrus clouds it was a sunny day, Valley reported 11.1 h. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 13.1C; Min 3.7C; Grass 1.1C]
7th: Another sunny day, less cirrus and good visibility with some smoke haze. We were within the anticyclone 1030 mb stationed over the Irish Sea so the weather continued settled. The light NE'ly breeze off Liverpool Bay persisted through the day with the temperature rising to 12.7C. Although the hedges are starting to look a bit green the trees are not as seen in the over-the-hedgetop hazy view of the Snowdonia Mountains. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 12.7C; Min 3.6C; Grass -0.3C]
8th: High-pressure was still in charge, but it had sunk a little southwards and was 1029 mb over SW England and was 1027 mb here. A sunny morning with a little moderately high altostratus and cirrus clouds and a little more cloud in the afternoon encroaching from the NW. The wind was SW'ly at first and turned NW'ly by the afternoon and the temperature rose to 16.9C, highest so far. I finished digging the vegetable plot and planted 3 rows of potatoes. Two speckled wood butterflies were seen in the garden, together with the peacock that has been around for a while. Vegetables have flowers too and worth a photograph. On the right can be seen a fine head of the edible early purple sprouting broccoli on the vegetable plot, the final crop of last year's plantings. The evening and night were overcast and dry. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 16.9C; Min 5.2C; Grass 1.1C]
9th: There was a little sunshine at first with the sun low in the sky but by 09 GMT it was overcast. Pressure 1022 mb was falling slowly. All 6 of the thermometers in the soil profile down to 100 cm depth read 10C, or more this morning, the earliest date looking back over 7 years. Last year it was reached on 21st April and the latest was 2 May 2001. At 0930 there was a short spell of very fine drizzle, not enough to wet the ground, but heavy enough from 1130 GMT. There was light rain from 1200 to 1300 GMT followed by some drizzle then started to clear with some glimpses of sunshine by 1600 GMT. After the sunshine of recent days it was a disappointing Easter Monday Holiday. There was little more clearance and the evening and night were overcast. [Rain 0.7 mm; Max 12.2C; Min 5.3C; Grass 1.4C]
10th: Overcast early, but it kept dry overnight with a little dew forming on the grass (0.05 mm recorded). At 09 GMT with pressure on 1024 mb there was a small break overhead. This was not an indication that the day would turn sunny it remaining mostly cloudy with the cloud thinning at times giving some brighter spells. The wind was light to moderate WSW'ly and the sun tried to break through in the afternoon, but failed. Cracking on with planting I sowed a row of peas and put in a row (of 3 lines) dwarf broad beans. Despite the 0.7 mm rain yesterday the soil surface was dry. Patricia beat me to it this year and spotted the first bluebells to flower in the wood. Seven days earlier than last year, but 6 days later than in 2005. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 15.1C; Min 8.0C; Grass 5.3C]
11th: Calm at first with the sky clearing through the morning. High 1026 mb was positioned over Wales and stretching SE over Belgium. Overnight with the grass minimum not falling below 7.7C, there was negligible dew but there were guttation drops at the tips of grass leaves. By 10 GMT it was mostly sunny with fair-weather cumulus clouds overhead. There was a light S'ly breeze until the middle of the afternoon when, with the sky then clear, a slight sea breeze set in from the NE. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 17.1C; Min 9.2C; Grass 7.7C]
12th: It was a mostly cloudy start to the day with moderately high altocumulus and some altostratus cloud over this part of the island and the mainland mountains. This slowly cleared leaving high cirrus and a milky look to the blue sky. Visibility was good at first, but became moderate as the haze enhanced with dust blowing in from north Africa. There was little or no wind at first, but by midmorning there was a SE'ly breeze. The afternoon was mostly sunny with the temperature reaching 17.9C before an intermittent sea breeze set in. Pipistrelle bats have returned to their summer maternity roost in the house. The evening was clear. [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 17.9C; Min 7.0C; Grass 1.8C]
13th: By morning there was a covering of thin high cirrus cloud. It was sunny but visibility was poor in the moderate haze that included dust. There was a light SE'ly breeze and the morning and early afternoon were mostly sunny with just a few small cumulus cloud seen through the haze. Once again a slight sea breeze set in late in the afternoon but not before the temperature had climbed to 19.8C. By then the sky was looking rather murky and there was no sight of the setting sun. Showers had affected SW England during the morning just spreading into S Wales by the afternoon, here another dry day. [Capel Curig 22.0C] [Rain 0.0 mm; Max 19.9C; Min 7.0C; Grass 4.0C]

The wild cherry is just starting to open it's pinkish-white flowers on lower branches and we spotted 2 holly blue and an orange tip butterfly around the garden. The blackthorn has, and still is, in full flower and more bluebells have come out. The damson is also in full flower, but I could see no bees them. At dusk I counted 40 bats emerging from their roost, there are probably more as I did not start counting early enough.

The first 15 days had temperatures above and rainfall well below average. The mean temperature was 10.4C (+1.4) and [+1.8] while the mean maximum 15.1C was (+2.5) and [+2.3]. Minimum temperature with a mean 5.7C were closer to average. With only 0.7 mm rainfall it was the driest beginning to April since 1997 that had only 0.5 mm.

It was nature in the raw at the nearby rookery during the day. Several successful raids were made by ravens. Normally rooks can defend their treetop nests against predators and even give approaching buzzards a hard time mobbing then in numbers. Not so the larger ravens that fly directly to the nests, alight on them before carrying away a killed chick. There are always adult rooks around the nests, but some would be away from the nests at the time of the attack, gathering food off the fields. At 21 GMT a pair of tawny owls were heard in the wood.